


the ceiling falls upon me (but in reality, i drown)

by retromoth



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Creeper Hybrid Sam | Awesamdude, Drowning, Enderman Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Hallucinations, Hurt No Comfort, Manipulation, Panic Attacks, Ranboo-centric (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29102430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retromoth/pseuds/retromoth
Summary: Ranboo has one singular thought ever present, ever since the voice disappeared. He needs to visit Dream, in that horrid prison. Within those blackstone and obsidian walls lies a manipulative man that he has a few choice words for. He didn't consider that maybe, the voice wasn't lying after all.
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sam | Awesamdude, Ranboo & Sam | Awesamdude
Comments: 12
Kudos: 110





	the ceiling falls upon me (but in reality, i drown)

**Author's Note:**

> One HUGE THING: This is not RPF (real person fiction), this is about the characters of the SMP. If any cc's express dislike towards works like this, I will take this down. If they do, and I don't see it, please, please, notify me and I will get right on that.
> 
> This fic is probably god awful, by the way. Originally, it was gonna be something entirely different (that I might still do something with), but then a whole new idea hit me. Anyway, it probably sucks because I'm not very good at writing, and this is my first time using AO3 to publish fics (and first time publishing a dsmp fic) so idk about formatting very well. 
> 
> Huge, HUGE TW for: Hallucinations, Character Death, Drowning, and Panic Attacks (feel free to tell me if there's anything more I should add to this list)
> 
> Keep yourself safe over reading a bad dsmp fic! Please! None of these are described in particularly bad detail, but they are present in the background, so stay safe. There's no way to avoid them either, because it's kinda the backbone of the fic idea! Hopefully, someone will enjoy this :)

Dream doesn't get many visitors to his lonely prison cell. Tommy was the first, but it was just to make a mockery of him. Technically deserved, he figured, but boring nonetheless. Bad was far more interesting, easier to manipulate someone he used to be closer friends with. Still, the demon boy was off, something to do with those vines that had begun to spread far before his stay in this prison. He wanted people to visit him, of course, and he had preferences for sure. But whoever showed up, he needed to craft a tactic to manipulate. Sapnap or George he might be able to mess with, but someone like Techno or Phil would be far harder to find a tactic for. 

Ranboo, though, was surely an unexpected visit. When Sam yelled through the wall of lava that a visitor was arriving, and that it was Ranboo, Dream quickly began to develop a tactic. Poor Ranboo. The boy is among the easiest to manipulate, both due to his status as a child and his so-called 'sleepwalking' state. The community house and disc ordeal was a lot quicker because of the enderboy's help. It didn't take long to think of things to tell Ranboo. With practiced ease, he began copying the memory book of the boy as well as he could remember. Likelihood is, the boy would believe they were exact copies. 

Shoving the copies into the small chest, he then leans against the back wall. Briefly, he glances toward the small pit of water in the corner. The less lives anyone has, the more weight threats on their life hold. As far he knows, Techno, Phil, Tommy, and Tubbo hold at least some hidden appreciation and care for Ranboo. A grin spreads across his face at the thought, hidden beneath a porcelain smile. 

* * *

The hybrid boy was currently pacing outside of the portal entrance to the prison. Sam still wasn't answering, and his anxiety was spiking through the roof. Should he just walk in, or wait for Sam? Thankfully, a familiar voice belonging to the creeper hybrid crackles over his communicator.

"Hello, Ranboo. You'd like to visit the prison today, correct?" His voice is soft and kind, much more inviting than he was expecting. Tommy had rambled on about how Sam was very serious and intimidating, but this sure didn't seem like how the younger had described the man.

Sighing, he takes out his communicator and pushes to speak. "Yes. Uh, do I just go through?"

Sam makes a noise of agreement. "Tell me when you're through, and wait in the Nether until I give the go-ahead."

Ranboo steps into the swirling purple and closes his eyes as the disorienting feeling of going to a different dimension floods his body. Opening his eyes slowly, he sees familiar red beneath him, netherrack. "I'm through."

The creeper hybrid only grunts in response, before going silent. Shifting from side to side, Ranboo stares at the portal. "Okay. Go ahead."

He steps slowly through, and finds himself within the walls of the prison. A clanging sound overtakes him, and he faintly registers the effect of fatigue resting on his bones. Sam stands behind a counter, and water crashes through the purple portal. "To prevent people coming through after you."

Nodding, he steps forward and follows protocol.

* * *

Everything is going fine, at least up until Ranboo stands upon a moving bridge going toward a man with a mask upon his face. His anxiety is once again spiking at the sight of the one individual he truly despises on this server. The lava falls behind him, and Sam's voice crackles over once again. "Enjoy your visit."

Then, silence. The bubbling of the burning liquid behind him is the only noise present, at least until Dream steps forward, shoes hitting the obsidian. The sound echoes, at least to Ranboo. Faintly, he notices his breathing speeding up. "Dream."

Dream grins beneath the mask. "Ranboo, my best friend! I was wondering when you'd finally visit me."

Those words drive through Ranboo's chest and panic fills him. Then, brief anger. "You're- you're not my friend, Dream. Your manipulation won't work on me."

"Oh." Dream's voice sounds uniquely disappointed. "You're awake. Too bad, was hoping you could finally break me out. Looks like I've got to wait, huh?"

"What," Ranboo swallows thickly. "What do you mean, 'you've got to wait'?"

The masked man cackles. "Wait until you go into that, hm, what do you call it..." He pauses briefly, before putting his finger up in glee. "Ah! You call it a, uh, sleepwalking state of sorts. That's why you didn't remember the community house and helping me until the voice told you."

"How do you know about the voice?" Ranboo's heart rate is rushing, he feels his breath going faster and faster. He's struggling to keep his composure, with his vision swaying.

Dream only grins and steps towards his chest. "Would you like to see what I've been writing?" He hands a book with 'DO NOT READ' etched onto the leather bound cover. 

Ranboo holds it in his hand and his panic is only spiking farther up. "This, this is an exact copy of my book!" He holds his copy up, flipping through and comparing loosely. Frantically, he opens the chest and digs through, only to find every book being the same.

Unbeknownst to Ranboo, his mind was fraying. The words of Dream and the panic attack resulting from them were causing him to spiral. With no comfort, he collapses against the wall. He began muttering incomprehensible words, and warbled enderman speech was falling from his lips. Dream slowly approaches, taking this opportunity to grab the young boy and drag him to the small pit of water in the corner of his room. Gripping the black and white hair, he shoves his head underwater as far as he can. Burns are starting to hiss on the skin of the boy, and a grin spreads across his face. 

* * *

In Ranboo's mind, things were going far differently. Dream had gone on and on about how he helped the man. He had been panicking in that hallucinated moment, seeing the hooded man disappear before his eyes with no logical explanation. Much to his fear, the world started collapsing around him. The obsidian ceiling began to collapse upon him, and fear filled him. He loses his balance, his feet finding nothing to stand on to support him. With his eyes shut tight, he hits the ground beneath him and screams before blood seeps out. He is still awake, alive as he dies from the blood loss.

Dream, in reality, stands over Ranboo's collapsed body that starts gasping for air beneath the water. Of course, this only burns his lungs and fills them with the water that will take his life away. His gasping breaths are ignored by the man, humming as he holds the boy's head underneath. Leaning in close, he presses two fingers to the neck and feels for a heartbeat. Nothing. Pressing his ear against Ranboo's chest, Dream still hears nothing. Moving his limbs, and the boy is still unresponsive. He tosses the body into the lava, just in case. With no communicator, he has no clue what the cause of death was.

Across the cascade of lava, Sam feels his communicator buzz. Taking the device out, he finds a message that sends a distinct chill down his spine.

_Ranboo drowned._

**Author's Note:**

> So, was that any good? Tell me if it was or not, i guess. I feel like it's bad, but that's because I wrote it, so? I dunno. I proofread it a bit, but not very intensely so, forgive me if there's misspellings or weird wording. Again, feel free to tell me if there is more I should add to the trigger list in the first note.


End file.
